Meadowcreek at
Lambert

What to know: The
West Forsyth boys drew a brutal first-round matchup in Duluth, who wound up
routing the Wolverines, and now Lambert has the pleasure of meeting a powerful
Gwinnett County program. The Mustangs ground out a 43-32 win against South
Gwinnett in the first round, and their scoring totals throughout the season
suggest that they’re more comfortable with low scoring totals than the
run-and-shoot Longhorns. But that trait doesn’t indicate a lack of quality:
Meadowcreek took Paul VI, a powerhouse program from the Washington, D.C. area,
to overtime on Dec. 28 in an eventual loss, and their last two losses to
Norcross, possibly the best team in Class 7A, were by just one point. The
Longhorns are still hot, coming off an 85-61 win over Mill Creek in the first
round, and their chances at extending their season hinge on them maintaining
that temperature.

What’s next: The
winner of Campbell and Woodstock in the Class 7A quarterfinals.

Grayson at North
Forsyth

Records, rankings,
seedings: North is 25-2, ranked No. 8 in Class 7A and the No. 1 seed from
Region 5-7A; Grayson is 16-10, unranked and the No. 3 seed from Region 8.

What to know: The
Raiders, who are in an otherwise favorable bracket, drew one of the trickier
1-4 matchups in the opening round against Mountain View, a team with ample size
and quickness. It was a closer game through three quarters, but North got its
offense figured out in the fourth and outscored the Bears 26-1 in that period.
This matchup looks considerably more favorable for the Raiders: Grayson is
16-10 and, back in December, lost 67-47 to Lambert, who North beat by 16 points
on Jan. 19.

What’s next: The
winner of Campbell and Hillgrove in the Class 7A quarterfinals.

South Forsyth at
Norcross

When, where: Wednesday,
6 p.m. in Norcross

Records, rankings,
seedings: South is 18-10, unranked and the No. 2 seed from Region 5;
Norcross is 24-3, ranked No. 6 and the No. 1 seed from Region 7.

What to know: Back
in November, the War Eagles volleyball team, facing a lower seed and a road
matchup, went into the Blue Devils’ house in the second round of the state
playoffs and got the win to move on to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, this
is basketball season, and this Norcross team hasn’t lost a game since December.
Norcross has a potent guard duo in Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu and Myra Strickland,
and senior post Devyn Wilson had committed to play in college at George Mason.
The senior-driven War Eagles have shown grit lately, upsetting Lambert in the
region semifinals and taking a tight win over North Gwinnett in the first round
of the playoffs, but they’ll be seriously pushed in this matchup.

What’s next: The
winner of McEachern and Tift County in the Class 7A quarterfinals.

Lambert at Newton

Lambert's Katie Schwind, right, steals the ball from South Forsyth's Ashley Breindl during the third quarter of the teams' game Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.
- photo by Brian Paglia

What to know: The
Longhorns are at the point in their season where every game could be head coach
Jaime Fisher’s last with the team, as Fisher is stepping down after the season
to spend more time with her family. Lambert extended Fisher’s run with a
first-round comeback win over Mill Creek, but topping the Rams looks like a
considerably more difficult task: Newton has been rolling since losing to South
Gwinnett on Jan. 25, winning its five games since then by an average margin of
23 points.

What’s next: The
winner of Cherokee and Colquitt County in the Class 7A quarterfinals.

What to know: This
matchup is really a shot in the dark: Prince Avenue has the advantage in
ranking and record, but the teams’ track records are wildly different, as
Pinecrest mostly played area private schools, while the Wolverines stuck to
smaller public programs. The Paladins and Wolverines have one opponent in
commons: Tallulah Falls, whom Pinecrest beat 66-26 and 68-42 and whom Prince
Avenue beat 75-25 and 59-37. That doesn’t help, guys! If the combo of Regina
Metz and Maddie Lynch stays productive, though – the duo combined for 49 points
in Pinecrest’s first-round win over Mount de Sales – the Paladins should have a
good chance.

What’s next: The
winner of Landmark Christian and Stratford Academy in the Class 1A private
school quarterfinals.